South Yorkshire Police have announced plans for an inquiry into child abuse in Rotherham. (Reuters / Toby Melville) / Reuters

South Yorkshire Police have announced an investigation into the force’s handling of the Rotherham child abuse scandal. The Independent Police Complaints Commission will not oversee the probe, though law enforcement say the inquiry will be impartial.

The investigation was
announced on Tuesday by South Yorkshire Police’s (SYP) Chief
Constable David Crompton. It was sparked by a report published by
Professor Alexis Jay, which uncovered systematic grooming,
trafficking, rape and abuse of at least 1,400 children in
Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. The rape and abuse was conducted
by gangs of predominately Asian men.

In a public statement, Crompton said the inquiry is crucial to
ensure individuals and organizations implicated in the scandal
are “investigated fairly, rigorously and with complete
impartiality.” The Chief Constable said the probe will
carefully examine the role of both the police and the council
over the course of those sixteen years in an effort to uncover
failings and wrongdoing. Crompton assured “appropriate
action” will be taken based on the inquiry
results.

“We must give victims the confidence to come forward in the
knowledge that all agencies will listen, will act, provide
appropriate support, and relentlessly pursue those who offend
against our young people,” he said.

It hasn't been announced who will conduct or oversee the
investigation, but an SYP spokeswoman told RT on Tuesday the
inquiry would be carried out by another British police force.
While the spokeswoman declined to say whether the Metropolitan
Police will be involved, she noted police officials from regional
parts of England and Wales were also under consideration.

She was unable to clarify precisely when the investigation would
begin, but said it would not happen until adequate “terms of
reference” were put in place. Suitable terms of reference
are crucial to ensuring the investigation does “the job it
was set up to do,” she said.

Since the release of
Professor Alexis Jay’s report on child sex exploitation in
Rotherham, a large number of people have come forward to report
cases of alleged abuse to local police.

In light of the scandal, the Labour party suspended four
Rotherham councilors. Roger Stone – who stepped down as former
council leader – Gwendoline Ann Russell, Jahangir Akhtar and
Shaukat Ali have all been issued suspensions, pending
investigation.

The move followed Labour leader Ed Miliband’s statement last
week, which emphasized that hundreds of vulnerable young people
in the town had been abused, and subsequently abandoned by those
who had a responsibility to protect them. Two former Labour
members, Maurice Kirk and Shaun Wright, would require national
executive committee approval to rejoin the party.

Wright, who currently holds the position of South Yorkshire’s
police and crime commissioner, has refused to resign from this
role despite considerable pressure. The former Labour councilor
was the council cabinet member responsible for children’s
services in Rotherham between 2005 and 2010.

In an official statement, Assistant Chief Constable Ingrid Lee
urged “anyone who has concerns about a child who could be at
risk to come forward.” She added that SYP officers “will
relentlessly pursue all evidence and do everything they can to
achieve justice for victims - and bring those responsible to
justice.”

But Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has expressed deep
concern over SYP’s limited resources, and is doubtful whether the
body can adequately pursue the scale of criminality involved in
the Rotherham case. Well over a thousand children were raped and
exploited, she told the House of Commons on Tuesday, yet the
criminals, traffickers and rapists responsible are still roaming
free.

Home Secretary Theresa May told the House on Tuesday the
perpetrators of this “vile crime” must be brought to
justice. She said a fear of being seen as racist and a disdainful
attitude to vulnerable children “must never stand in the way
of justice again.”

Cooper has expressed concern that there is currently no
overarching state-led inquiry into the exploitation that occurred
in Rotherham. She has urged the government to take swift action.
The shadow home secretary is also deeply critical that the
investigation – announced by South Yorkshire Police - will not be
overseen by Britain’s police watchdog.